Despite persistent rumors of another sequel, the Gremlins franchise has somehow managed to stay clear of the current craze of remaking / rebooting / sequelizing old movies. Last year, producer Frank Marshallsaid that he thought the films should be left alone, and that a remake was unlikely to ever get made. Fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief, and went about their business.

But Hollywood can get very stubborn when it comes to a franchise as fondly remembered as Gremlins is, and so Warner Bros. is now pushing hard for reboot rights. Worse still, there actually seems to be a chance that Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Entertainment will hand them over. Where’s a bright light when you need one? More details after the jump.

Vulture reports that Warner Bros. is currently in negotiations with Amblin. While similar conversations have taken place several times before, most fizzled because the deal was too damn expensive. However, Vulture‘s sources are whispering that Warner Bros. has a decent shot of making it happen this time. I’m not really sure what’s changed, but consider yourself warned.

The 1984 classic and its 1990 sequel were both directed by Joe Dante, and produced by Spielberg through his Amblin Entertainment. It’s extremely unlikely that Spielberg will direct this time, either (though come to think of it, I’d be curious to see that film), but since Spielberg’s involvement has been a requirement in past talks, he’ll likely produce again. As for whether Dante will return, the horror filmmaker has previouslysaid that he doesn’t expect to get asked back to the franchise. He’s probably right, but we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out.

My knee-jerk instinct is to get annoyed at the prospect of another Gremlins movie, especially as the creatures are likely to be CG this time around. But in fairness, we’ve seen some pretty great remakes/reboots and horror comedies in recent years. If a new Gremlins does get made, what would you like to see from it?